Looking back… and into the future

Since I began running my own translation business, I have always found this time of year quite exciting. The last week of the calendar year is a good time to go back and look at what went well, maybe even beyond our best expectations, and what we failed to achieve. I wrote a bit about my expectations for this year in my ‘On Plans, Wishes and Resolutions for 2017’ post.

2017 was a great year. It included regular work with old and new clients and meeting colleagues face-to-face at the BP17 conference in Budapest, and later in Lisbon. I also managed to improve my translation, revision and language skills with classroom and online CPD courses. No year can go by without some CPD, right? In March, I completed the Working with Translation MOOC course. Developed by the Cardiff University, this 4-week course is a good reminder of those translation studies classes in college. As a bonus, the forum is super active with dozens (maybe hundreds?) of students around the world commenting on topics related to translation.

Now with 2018 almost here I have started thinking about what I wish to accomplish in 12 months to come. My focus will continue to be translation and revision work, but I am also going to take time to complete production of an online course I have been working on for a few months. I really hoped to be able to complete it this year, but I just couldn’t find the time. Anyway, I have taken quite a few e-learning courses and strongly believe in learning from the comfort of one’s home. So, delivering my own course is really an experience I am looking forward to in 2018.

Professional Development

Being passionate about learning, I don’t hesitate to enrol in a new course that interests me every chance I get. In 2018 I will continue to invest in my French apprentissage. I am curious about foreign languages in general but, having learned French in high school for years, I decided to take up classes. Over the years, I ended up forgetting a lot of the grammar and vocabulary. I guess speaking languages is not like riding a bike. You will forget if you don’t practice. Language learning is time-consuming though. You don’t become fluent overnight but, for me, the effort is well worth it.

There are also a few conferences that interest me taking place next year. There’s the BP18 Translation Conference in April. This year it will take place in Vienna, Austria. I really enjoyed BP17 this year (I wrote about it here and here) so I wouldn’t mind attending next year as well. In May, APTRAD’s 2nd conference will take place once again in Porto, Portugal. Being an APTRAD member and living in Portugal, this is one conference I really don’t want to miss. Then, in October, there is the METM (Mediterranean Editors and Translators Meeting) in Girona, Spain. I have never attended a MET conference but have heard wonderful feedback from colleagues who have. Maybe 2018 is the year to experience it. These are just a few examples of translation conferences. There are plenty more taking place in 2018 around the world.

I feel excited about the new year and confident that it will be another great one. What about you, dear colleagues, what are your plans and hopes for 2018?